Five New Taxa and Two New Combinations of Acanthaceae from Central America

Abstract

Five new taxa from Central America, Anisacanthus nicaraguensis (compound dichasial cymes, 4-merous red corollas, 3-colporate pollen), Aphelandra scabra var. angustifolia (narrowly elliptic leaves), Justicia cauliflora (some inflorescences on old wood, lanceolate bracts, greenish white corolla), J. chiriquiensis (cymose panicles, oblanceolate bracts, 4-porate pollen), and J. nicaraguensis (clusters of 2-3 flowers to short spikes, corollas orange, dicolporate pollen), are described. The new combination Justicia rothschuhii (Lindau) Durkee, based on Chaetothylax rothschuhii Lindau, is made, and the new name Justicia danielii Durkee, which replaces Chaetothylax cuspidatus D. N. Gibson, is provided. In preparation of the family treatment of Acanthaceae for the Flora de Nicaragua and Flora Mesoamericana, examination of recent collections has revealed four new species and one new variety. In each case these taxa were collected from areas that have not been well collected in the past. Also, as the result of combining Chaetothylax with Justicia (Graham, 1988), two Central American species of the former genus must now be transferred to the latter. Anisacanthus nicaraguensis Durkee, sp. nov. TYPE: Nicaragua. Departamento Estelf: 18.5 m N of Estelf, 13014'N, 86021'W, elev. ca. 850 m, 19 Jan. 1985, Pedro P Moreno 25325 (holotype, MO; isotype, CAS). Figures 1, 6A. Frutex ad 3 m. Folia ovata, 27-75 mm longa, 9-25 mm lata, apice acuminato, basi acuta ad obtusa; petiolis ad 27 mm. Inflorescentiae spiciformes secundae vel cymae compositae sine floribus basibus; bracteae lineares-subulatae, 3.5-4.5 mm longae. Corollae rubrae, 4-merae, 33-35 mm longae. Fructus clavati, 15-17 mm longi, glabri, seminibus 4. Shrub to 3 m tall. Young stem quadrate-fluted, glabrous except for puberulence at the nodes; older stems subquadrate or terete, brown epidermis shredding in long strips. Leaves ovate, blades 2775 mm long, 9-25 mm broad, apically acuminate, basally acute to obtuse, margins entire to crenulate, glabrous, cystoliths to ca. 0.2 mm long, abundant and plainly visible on both surfaces of dried leaves; petioles to 27 mm long, glabrate. Inflorescences basically compound dichasial cymes lacking the central or basal flower, to 2.5 cm long, inflorescence branches sometimes appearing as secund spikes, rachises minutely puberulent with hairs ca. 0.1 mm long plus occasional, slightly longer glandular hairs; bracts and bracteoles linear-subulate, 3.54.5 mm long, 0.3-0.4 mm broad at base, sparingly puberulent. Flowers with short pedicels 0.5-1.5 mm long; calyx 5-merous, 11-15 mm long, segments equal, deeply divided, long subulate, 9-13 mm long, glandular-puberulent; corollas red, 4merous, 33-35 mm long, puberulent outside, upper lip single-lobed, 29 mm long, 0.8-0.9 mm broad, lower lip 3-lobed, lobes 15-17 mm long, 2.5-3 mm broad, apically acute; stamens 2, exserted, filaments to 33 mm long, attached near base of corolla, glabrous, anthers bithecous, thecae parallel, equal, 3.6-3.8 mm long, pollen prolate, 50-55.3 X 27.229 ~tm, 3-colporate, pseudocolpi on either side of each pore, insulae lacking; style to 42 mm long, extending beyond stamens, stigma bilobed. Fruit a clavate capsule, 15-17 mm long, 5.8-6.9 mm broad, glabrous, tuberculate, stipe 6-8 mm long; seeds 4, 5.8-6.5 mm long, 4.4-5.1 mm broad, glabrous, margins conspicuously thickened. Habitat, distribution, and phenology. Anisacanthus nicaraguensis is known only from the type collected in flower and fruit in January. The collection area, Cuesta de Kukamonga, is a mesa that has been collected repeatedly in recent years, leading W. D. Stevens of MO to conclude that the plant is rare in this generally arid area that, he told me, has resulted from an old basaltic lava flow now eroded into a series of mesas, flat-topped hills, or mountains with steep slopes. The soil that overlies the basalt is thin and black. He also related that the area has a distinctive vegetation dominated by Agave, columnar cacti, thorny shrubs, and small trees, with occasional oaks where the soil is a little deepNovoN 9: 503-510. 1999. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.104 on Mon, 20 Jun 2016 06:38:14 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms